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Unveiled in 1977, Opium was created by perfumer Jean-Louis Sieuzac and presented in a novel flacon by the legendary bottle designer Pierre Dinand. The juice opens with notes of mandarin orange, bergamot and lily of the valley, has jasmine, carnation and myrrh at its heart, and trails off on a vanilla, patchouli, opopponax and amber base. Its bottle, originally created by the legendary bottle designer Pierre Dinand (he was the mastermind behind such classics as Dior Eau Sauvage and Calvin Klein's Eternity and Obsession fragrances), has been updated a couple of times, but the scent itself is unedited and still redolent of the Seventies.

"Opium embraces the whole history and values of our house", said Renaud de Lesquen, president of YSL & Designer Brands. The new campaign will apparently "unveil a fiery, almost reckless woman with magnetic seduction, that nobody or nothing can resist".

Step forward Miss Blunt, the actress that YSL believe personifies this fantasy woman. She worked with photographers Romain Gavras and Patrick Demarchelier on the campaign, which airs in October, and says of her new role: "I am very honoured to have been chosen to be the face of Opium. It is really exciting to embody a fragrance which has stood the test of time without its allure ever being diminished".